


A Day In The Sun

by FlowerOfRegret



Category: Mystery Skulls (Band), Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Bullies suck, F/M, Gen, Helpful advice from a stranger, I deal with them a lot, M/M, The gang tries to relax, at work, just sayin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 15:32:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7444435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlowerOfRegret/pseuds/FlowerOfRegret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Your scars don’t define who you are. They tell a story on where you’ve been and that you survived”</p>
<p>The gang tries to take a day to relax but Arthur's' bad luck seems to follow them.<br/>Sometimes, the best advice is received from a stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day In The Sun

**Author's Note:**

> This just feels meh to me  
> I tried to make it better but...  
> Take it if you will

Arthur floated on the plastic tube feeling like he was sitting in a giant, blue doughnut; the artificial current pulling him around in a wavy circle at the local aquatics park.

There were two giant water slides in the middle of the park, a 5ft swimming area and then the 15ft deep end with a high and low dive off to one side. Then there was a lazy river that snaked around the opposite end to the diving boards.

Arthur stared at the sky; the clouds drifting by slowly. He let out a sigh. He was wearing yellow swim trunks and a loose fitting T-shirt to hide the scar tissue covering his shoulder and torso, having left his prosthetic in the van to keep it safe and dry.

The blonde still felt self-conscious about his scars, even though Vivi and Lewis both assured him they didn’t bother them in the least.

Lewis offered to wear a shirt too, one that read ‘Professional Beach Hunk’ just to cheer his friend up. But the poor guy accidentally fazed out of it the moment they got in the water.

It was a good thing his swim shorts were projected or the ghost would have been in real trouble.

Unfortunately, due to pool rules, Arthur wasn’t allowed on the slides or in the 5ft. area as long as he wore a shirt which was considered a safety issue.

So Arthur just stayed in the river, Lewis and Vivi staying close. He’d managed to get the others to try the slides and diving boards at least once but they insisted it isn’t right leaving him behind.

After all, they came to have fun together.

Arthur questioned himself; why did he let them talk him into going to a public pool?

Well, it was a hot day and the water felt good on his legs. Besides, he and Lewis used to take the girls here to swim and to give Mr. and Mrs. Pepper a breather once in a while.

But that was back in the day... before…

Arthur shook his head to clear it of unwanted thoughts.

He brought his head up to look over his chest. He saw Lewis and Vivi a little ways ahead of him, splashing each other playfully. Vivi had on a deep blue two-piece suit and Lewis had on baggy swim trunks that were black with purple flams (Vivi’s idea). He wore a thick pair of sunglasses to hide his ghostly eyes.

Vivi had her tube around her waist as she used her feet to splash Lewis as she kicked. Lewis, having too broad of shoulders, just laid over his tube on his stomach, using his arms to pull himself towards his girlfriend, flipping her out of her tube.

She stood up, coughing out the water that went up her nose, laughing. She then flipped Lewis over with a giggle. The specter, in his human disguise, stood up with the tube over his head. His sunglasses had fallen off but no one seemed to notice.

Lewis pulled the tube off before tackling Vivi under water, he stood back up with her in his arms as they kissed. Vivi put his sunglasses back on his face when they parted.

Arthur let his head drop back down with a sigh, staring back at the clouds. He could hear short whistle blows, as the lifeguards were enforcing the rules and keeping the peace.

Arthur looked over at one that was patrolling the shore by the river. She was cute with her blond hair pulled back and a guard tube in her hands. A whistle hung from her mouth, tweeting at some kids who were getting too rambunctious in the river.

She noticed him looking at her and gave him a nod. Arthur blushed and turned away, feeling embarrassed for staring at her.

At the third quarter of every hour, the lifeguards would blow their whistles in unison to clear the pool for fifteen minutes. This way, everyone could get a break from swimming and the guards could cool off.

Arthur heard the long whistle blow and knew he was near the end of the river. He was just going to let the current take him the rest of the way until he was shoved over by the kids the guard had blown her whistle at earlier.

Arthur flailed his arm and a squeak escaped his lips right as he tipped over.

Suddenly, he was panicking.

He didn’t know which way was up or what to do, he flailed his arm as he desperately tried to grab onto something.

A large hand grabbed his arm just below the shoulder as it hoisted him up. Arthur clung to this life line as he sputtered and gasped, a lot of water having gone up his nose.

He shook the water from his face as he looked at Lewis who was holding him straight out with an outstretched arm, his face full of concern. Arthur noticed the specters’ hair was still dry.

_“I got-cha buddy”_ he assured.

Vivi was near the pool steps where the tubes were being stacked, she was shaking her head. The lifeguard that was patrolling the river was staring at them too.

 “Are you alright?” the guard asked with a practiced tone.

Arthur nodded as Lewis slowly put him down. When his feet felt the bottom, he noticed that the water only came to the bottom of his ribs. He felt so stupid for having freaked out when all he had to do was stand up.

He gave the guard a bashful wave as she nodded and put her guard tube down and walked towards the deep end near the high dive. All the guards seemed to hang out over there on their breaks as they played for the ten minutes they were given.

Arthur heard a snicker and saw the group of kids laughing at him, making a rude imitation of his panic attack. Arthur just frowned as he and Lewis went to join Vivi at the steps. Vivi noticed them too and turned to Arthur.

“I ought a give those kids something to laugh at…” her voice scornful.

_“They’re just kids Vi, not cultists”_ Lewis joked.

Arthur only ducked his head, heading towards their towels.

He used to love to swim, him and Lewis going to the pool a lot when they were younger. They wouldn’t have won any gold medals but they could swim circles around each other for hours.

And now…

Arthur couldn’t explain it but, the moment he feels any loss of control…

The blonde squashed those thought again, cursing his brain. He was not going to ruin Lewis and Vivi’s day by his own insecurities.

 

There was a decent crowd at the pool. They managed to snag a spot under one of the large umbrellas in the shade. Only problem was, it was close to the high dive.

A few kids ran by towards the concession stand as Arthur went to his pool chair, his bright, orange towel easy to spot. He heard another guard tweet their whistle and a voice yell, “No running!”

Lewis just shook his head. _“Seems the younger you are, the more you’re in a hurry”_ he chuckled.

Vivi took his hand, “Guess that makes me young forever” she giggled. She sat at a chair next to Arthur on a blue towel and Lewis sat next to her.

He didn’t need a towel but Vivi got him one anyways. It was purple with a white alpaca stitched on it. He draped it over his shoulders to make it look like he was drying his hair. Even though his hair was an illusion and couldn’t get wet.

Arthur laid back on his towel and draped his arm over his face. A large splash made him turn his head towards the high dive as he saw one of the male lifeguards getting ready to jump.

He was around their age, young with a nice tan and broad shoulders like Lewis. Arthur watched as the lifeguard took a deep breath and then bounced as hard as he could on the diving board and doing a two and a half flip before landing a near perfect dive. The other guards all started clapping for their colleague.

This only annoyed Arthur further, lowering his self-esteem even more. Vivis’ voice disrupted his thoughts.

“I bet you could do that Lew” she stated as they too watched the lifeguards play.

Lewis chuckled _“Maybe now but I’m actually kind of jealous. There’s no way I could have done that when I was alive.”_ Arthur just grunted.

“Oh, come on Artie, lighten up” Vivi scoffed.

_“Ya Artie, It’s too beautiful a day for sad thoughts”_ Lewis chimed in.

Arthur peeked an eye out from under his arm before covering it again. Now Vivi grunted.

“Come on Artie, we came here to have fun. Is it because they won’t allow shirts in the deeper water?” Vivi asked, crossing her arms.

“It’s not that. It’s just… there’s too many people here is all” Arthur lied, not wanting to admit his darker thoughts that keep surfacing.

Before Vivi could argue further, a long whistle blow followed by a bunch of kids screaming in joy disrupted her. The guards were all back in their chairs as the pool filled with bodies again.

To prevent further arguing, Lewis turned to their girlfriend _“Hey Vi, you should put more sunscreen on, I can see your shoulders are starting to turn pink”_

Upon inspecting her skin, Vivi pulled her bag out from under her chair. It was a beach bag with white and blue stripes. After some rummaging around in it, she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small bottle of spf 50. She gave Lewis a smile.

“Hey Lew, could you put some on my back? That way I don’t miss a spot?”

_“Sure”_ Lewis smiled as he took the bottle.

By now, Arthur sat up. His stomach gave out a low growl. Grabbing Vivis’ bag, he dug around till he found his wallet. Pushing her bag back under her chair he stood up.

“I’ve got the munchies, you guys want anything?” he asked.

Lewis just gave him a look before he realized what he said. “Sorry Lew, I forgot.”

Lewis just shook his head in amusement. Even though he couldn’t eat, he did appreciate the kind gesture.

Vivi just mumbled “Nothing for me~” as Lewis began to give her a back rub with her sunscreen.

Arthur found himself watching the two a little longer than he had planned before Lewis smirked, _“If you want, I can do you next when I’m done with Vivi”_ the specter winked and Arthur blushed.

Arthur just nodded before turning, not trusting his voice to not squeak. He had to pass the high dives to get to the concession stand.

With a sigh, he turned his attention to the line he had to wait in, keeping the pool to his back, trying to forget it was there.

A body pushed in front of him as an elbow caught him in the shoulder. Four people cut in front of him.

“Hey, I was here first” Arthur stated angrily.

The guy in front of him turned and Arthur lost some of his nerves. The guy was big, not as big as his friend but, big enough to cause him damage. There were two other mean looking guys beside him and a girl in a pink bikini.

“Says who?” the guy in the middle scoffed, looking down his nose at the smaller man.

Arthur wasn’t the brave type but he hated bullies. Making himself stand as tall as he could, he tried to look the guy in the eye. It was a little hard to do since Arthur could only see his reflection in the guys’ sunglasses. This just made the group laugh at him. They turned their backs as they ignored him.

This only annoyed Arthur further. This wasn’t high school anymore. He was going to stick up for himself! He taped the guy on the shoulder, repeating what he said, “I was here first, go to the back of the line.”

The two guys on either side of him laughed as their ‘ring leader’ made an annoyed turn to face the pipsqueak that was bothering him. Arthur stood his ground, despite being outnumbered. The girl just snorted in amusement.

Without warning, the guy shoved Arthur backwards, causing him to stumble to stay on his feet.

“What are ya gonna do bout it?” his voice cruel as he tried to impress his posy, “Gonna call your ‘boy-toy’ to come save ya?”

Arthur’s face turned crimson, but not out of embarrassment.

Arthur almost never lost his temper. But the moment someone insulted or went after one of his friends…

Arthur turned his gaze over to his friends.

They both were smiling as Lewis was wiping sunscreen off his nose where Vivi had smeared it.

Arthur fought with his emotions as the bullies continued to laugh, turning back to the line.

He reminded himself that they had come to the pool today to have fun and relax.

Arthur wasn’t going to start a fight and risk getting kicked out.

 

Having taken a few deep breaths, Arthur was just going to walk away when some kids ran by and bumped into him.

Losing his balance and only having one arm, he stumbled into the lead bully.

First mistake

The guy turned with a glare, his lip giving an irritated twitch as he grabbed Arthur by his shirt collar and heaved him as hard as he could. Arthur, still off balance, continued to stumble backwards until the ground disappeared from beneath him.

Second mistake

He fell backwards in to the 15ft deep water.

Logic tried to tell him that he could swim and that he wasn’t that far from the wall. But his brain seized up the moment his head went under.

It was dark, it was cold, he was numb

Numb…

Losing all sense of direction, Arthur tried to scream only to have his mouth fill with water. He tried moving all his limbs in every direction as he panicked; only making him sink faster. He could feel the water pressure in his ears, only messing up his equilibrium further.

He couldn’t breathe!

Everything was starting to go dark, he could see little white spots floating across his vision as his brain was being deprived of oxygen.

Dark… cold… no control…

He didn’t see the surface of the water break as someone jumped in towards him.

A pair of hands grabbed him from behind as he felt himself being dragged towards the surface. The two broke free and Arthur found he could breathe again. He immediately started coughing and sputtering.

An arm pinned his onto something soft while another arm gripped around his chest, forcing him to lay back on something that was floating.

Arthur was just about to thank Lewis for the save until he heard a females’ voice in his ear.

“It’s alright, I’ve got you, you’re safe.”

Arthur was too dazed to respond. He then felt a pair of legs give a strong kick as his savior swam him back to shore. He could only look up at the sky as the person had their arm locked around his chest from behind to keep him from slipping off. He then felt himself be turned towards a pool ladder.

“Ok, I need you to put your feet on the ladder. Can you do that for me?”

Arthur just nodded, still dazed as he fiddled with his feet. Once his feet were in position, he felt his arm be released and his body pushed forward.

“I need you to grab the ladder. Can you reach it?”

Without a word Arthur did as he was asked, reaching his hand out shakily. He grabbed the cold metal and tried to pull himself up but felt his hand slip.

He felt his panic return as he slowly fell backwards.

Suddenly his body stopped as something pressed up against his back. Looking at the ladder, he noticed an extra pair of hands on either side of him.

“I’ve got you. You won’t fall back in, I promise” the voice was calm, almost a whisper so only he could hear.

Arthur felt the person put their feet on the same step as him as they used their body to support his weight, using their arms as a net to keep him from falling. Slowly, he made it out of the water and collapsed on his knees on solid ground, panting.

The panic slowly dissipated as he continued to breathe heavily. He saw a person climb out of the water and kneel next to him.

“That’s it, just keep breathing. You need to slow your heart rate” the voice commanded.

Arthur closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder encouragingly. Slowly exhaling, he opened his eyes and turned to the voice.

It was a young woman.

She had long brown hair sleeked back with water. Her eyes were green and she wasn’t much taller than Vivi. She had on a red, two piece swim suit with the word ‘Guard’ stitched on her chest. A red guard tube laid on the cement next to him as the water continued to fall from their bodies.

Their eyes locked and he could see hers were kind and filled with concern.

“Arthur!” he heard Vivis’ voice as she and Lewis hurried to his side. Breaking eye contact, Arthur continued to shake on his knees as his mind started to clear. He felt the gentle hand on his shoulder give another squeeze as he heard the lifeguards’ voice again.

“Are you alright?” it sounded practiced but compassionate. He couldn’t help but look at her again.

That’s when he noticed her arm.

Her right arm and shoulder were covered in scars.

Arthur shook himself when he realized he was staring. He turned his attention over to the concession stand and noticed the bullies were still in line, ugly smirks on their faces. The lifeguard followed his eyes and let out a sigh before standing.

“Stay here” she commanded softly.

Arthur watched her approach the bullies as Vivi knelt beside him, putting her arms around him protectively.

“Artie, what happened?” her voice shaky. “We heard a panicked scream and a whistle blow before we saw a guard jump in. We didn’t know it was you they were saving”

Lewis draped Arthurs’ towel over his trembling shoulders before putting a hand on one.

_“Who did this?”_ his asked, his voice angry.

By now, they heard an argument starting to escalate over by the concession stand. The life guard was pointing a finger at the lead bully, her face serious and angry as the man towered over her defiantly.

Lewis helped Arthur to his feet as they walked over towards the argument. By now they could hear the words.

 

“You know what you are? A scum bag, that’s what” the guard stated. The mans’ face was turning red as he yelled back.

“Who do you think you are, Freak?! I can get you fired for insulting me!”

The guard spat back, “That’s only true if I was insulting you. Dirt Bag would be an insult but do you know what scum is? The definition of scum is a spineless, lower life form that feeds off the waste of others. That’s what you are, so you see, it’s not an insult but a comparison” Her voice was stern and controlled but they could see her face was getting red.

“Hey!” the bullies were not amused anymore as their anger rose.

She stood her ground. “You can either walk out of here willingly or be escorted out permanently” she placed her hands on her hips.

There was a double tweet whistle blow in the background. Soon, another woman approached the heated argument. She was a head taller than the other guard and wearing a blue swimsuit that said ‘Head Guard’ on her chest.

She stood next to her colleague as she explained the situation. Vivi tried to get in on the argument when she heard the bullies try and say it was an accident.

The guard that saved Arthur suddenly turned on her, locking eyes and stating, “I need you to step back. Do Not get involved”

Vivi was taken aback, not expecting the cold behavior. The guards’ commanding stare made her back up. She stomped back over to Lewis and Arthur as they went over to their chairs. Suddenly they heard clapping as they saw aa officer show up and escort the 4 trouble makers out.

Arthur noticed the lifeguard turn their way as she walked over. Vivi noticed this too and crossed her arms, still hurt from being snapped at. When she got closer, her posture changed from professional to shy.

Arthur couldn’t help but look at her shoulder again when she spoke to him, her voice somewhat soft.

“Sorry about that.”

_“For what?”_ Lewis asked, his expression confused.

“Well, I’ve been watching that group for a while and knew they were trouble. Though I couldn’t do anything until they did something first” She put her hands behind her back, as if she was nervous at talking to new people.

She then turned to Vivi, “And I owe you an apology as well. The reason I snapped at you was so you didn’t get in trouble too. We have a ‘zero tolerance’ for disorderly conduct and kick out anyone who’s involved. I didn’t want to see you get in trouble for sticking up for your friend.”

Vivis’ expression softened as she let her arms relax. “Oh, well… thanks for that, I guess.”

_“And thanks for the save”_ Lewis chimed in as he took Arthurs’ shoulders in his grasp. Arthur just looked bashfully at the ground, his face feeling hot.

“Well, what was I supposed to do? Watch him flail like a fish?” her expression slightly playful.

This made Vivi giggle. Arthurs’ blush darkened as he heard the guard giggle too. He felt Lewis give his shoulders a squeeze as he looked up to his smiling eyes.

“Anyway, I just wanted to do a follow up and make sure you were alright” the guard said as she turned her attention to Arthur. He looked up and saw her eyes on him, full of kindness.  He could only nod before glancing at her arm again.

The guard noticed this and slightly turned her body as if to hide her arm. Arthur realized what he was doing and cursed himself internally, causing him to look down at his feet.

He knew how uncomfortable it felt when people stared at his arm.

The guard cleared her throat awkwardly before turning towards her chair, stating over her shoulder, “I need to take you to the guard office because we need to fill out an incident report”

The guard grabbed a towel off her chair and draped it over her shoulder before walking back to the others.

_“He’ll be fine”_ Lewis insured, squeezing Arthurs’ shoulders again.

“I’m sure he will, but it’s standard procedure that any and all rescues are followed up with a report for the parks records” as she said this, it sounded rehearsed, like this isn’t the first time.

“I know it sounds annoying but really, it’s just a few yes or no questions and getting your name and number down for the records” the guard responded in kind.

Lewis and Vivi could only nod as they followed their friend and his escort to the guard room.

It was empty since all the other guards were at their chair. There were two office workers at the front window and the head guard that had come to the lifeguards’ aid from earlier as well as the officer that had escorted the bullies out.

The guard walked up to the office door and rapped her knuckles on it lightly.

The head guard nodded and said something to the officer before he walked out, nodding at the others as he stepped outside.

The head guard then sighed dramatically as she addressed her colleague, “Well, that was eventful” before turning to her desk and searching through a stack of papers.

“Tell me about it” the guard in red huffed, slight annoyance in her voice.

Arthur just stood in the door way, a puddle forming around his feet as water continued to drip from his shorts. Lewis and Vivi stood on either side of him.

 

“You sure know how to make friends, huh Hara” the head guard teased, looking over a pink piece of paper, “This makes 6 complaints and we’ve only been open a month” she mocked.

“Hey, it’s not my fault, they started it” Hara fake pouted. “Besides, I’m not here to make friends…”

“I’ve noticed, you haven’t been labeled ‘The Mean Lifeguard’ for nothing. Though, that last group had a few more ‘colorful’ titles to add to your growing list”

Arthur shuffled his feet awkwardly, hugging his towel closer, listening to the others banter. He was glad Lewis had a comforting grip on his shoulder.

“We’re just ‘human Band-Aids’, remember. It’s our job to provide first aid and ensure peoples safety. But, I’d rather people hate me for ruining their fun than letting them get hurt or hurt others. And _You_ know how much I hate bullies...”

“I didn’t say you were a bad guard, in fact, your one of the most reliable ones here. All the complaints against you are just a bunch of whiny people not liking to follow the rules” the head guard nudged her colleague, giving her a pointed look.

“Just one day, I’d like to go home dry, ya know” the guard, Hara, mumbled.

Vivi cleared her throat, reminding the two that they were still there.

The head guard pulled out another file and turned to them, “Good afternoon, as you’ve noticed, I’m the head guard. My name is Aubree and this is Hara.

_“Nice to meet you, I’m Lewis. This is Vivi and you already met Arthur”_

Arthur shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking at the floor.

Stealing his nerves, he looked at the guard again, seeing her green eyes turn to his. “I’m sorry” his voice a whisper.

The guard looked confused, “For what?”

Arthur took a deep breath before answering, “For making you save me and have to deal with those other people.”

“You’re quite brave, you know?” her voice a little shy but kind.

Arthur looked at her again, not expecting her response. She continued.

“I saw how you tried to stand your ground to those jerks even though you were outnumbered. But you kept your cool and didn’t pick a fight.”

Arthur could only stare at her now, his mind completely off guard (no pun intended) at her words.

He was interrupted as he felt Vivi give his shoulder a friendly slap. “That’s our Artie, the bravest one of us all” she giggled. Lewis nodded in agreement.

Arthur blushed and looked down again.

 

As the guard, Hara, started filling out a yellow sheet of paper, Aubree noticed she was favoring her right shoulder.

“How’s your shoulder?” the head guard asked the other, voice full of concern, “Did you need a break or take more pain medication?”

“I’m fine” Hara stated, rubbing at it absentmindedly.

Hara had put her towel down and Vivi couldn’t help but notice the odd injury.

“Did you get attacked?”

Hara stiffened for a moment, her eyes looking up briefly before turning back to the clipboard she was holding.

Lewis nudged Vivi with his elbow.

“What? It’s an honest question”

The head guard, Aubree, could see the blonde only had one arm under the towel he was wrapped in. She turned to the other guard, breaking the awkward silence,

“You might as well tell them the story, I’m not letting you go back to your chair till you’ve had a rest”

“Besides, you know you like telling it~”

The guard, Hara, sighed before putting the clipboard down and turning to the curious woman with blue hair.

Arthur shuddered and grabbed at his own stump.

Her right shoulder was exposed for all to see.

Some were just thin, white lines, like claw marks. Others were bigger, deeper gouges, almost as wide as a finger. They crisscrossed all over the shoulder, down to mid-bicep. A few scars even appearing around her swim suit on her collar and ribs.

When her arm was at her side, Arthur shuddered, noticing how all the scars lined up in a pattern, made by something with a very large mouth.

Hara leaned against the desk next to the head guard, gesturing for the others to take a seat before crossing her arms,

“Fine, I’ll rest, but I don’t need my meds. You have no idea how bad those things taste.”

The guard sighed before turning to her audience,

“I have relatives that live along the east coast that I visit sometimes. They live right near an inlet with their own board walk and dock. I swim there sometimes in the morning and evening when I’m there”

“It’s really pretty~” the head guard, Aubree, cut in.

Hara just gave her a look but smiled, “Ya, it is. Anyway, being the ocean, I wasn’t the only thing swimming in there.”

Arthur didn’t like where this was going.

_“Was it a shark?”_ Lewis asked curiously.

“Heck no, jeez. If it was a shark, I doubt I’d be alive right now. Though, sharks don’t like the taste of people, they bite a lot harder” Hara was messaging her own shoulder, as if the memory was making the pain return.

“It was a dolphin” Aubree cut in again, sounding amused by the fact.

“Hey, didn’t you want me to tell the story?” Hara lightly bumped her friend with her elbow.

_“A Dolphin?!”_ Lewis sounded shocked, “ _I didn’t know dolphins attacked people”_

“They don’t, well, not unless you provoke one…”

 

“There were some boys crab hunting across the inlet and I guess the dolphin was bothering them or stealing their catch. I don’t really know the details but… I guess they were hitting the dolphin with their nets, trying to chase it away”

Arthur noticed Hara was grabbing her shoulder a little tighter, her hand flexing.

“They got the dolphin to leave them alone but, they pissed it off in the process.”

“Dolphins are a lot like people, ya know. They can hold a grudge. I guess its rage needed a victim. When it couldn’t get to the ones that were aggravating it, it turned to the easiest target it could.”

“I was just swimming by, not really paying attention. Before I knew it, something blindsided me, ramming into my side and leaving me stunned.”

“I took a breath to holler out, thinking I was hit by a boat, but before I could, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as something clamped down on it and dragged me under.”

Arthur cringed at that mental image, the description vary similar to his own experience that involved teeth.

Hara continued, her eyes unfocused as she recalled, “It was very dark, the water a deep green/grayish color. I knew enough to hold my breath but still put up a struggle. I had no idea what grabbed me but I didn’t really care, I just knew I needed air.”

“I pulled and felt the pain intensify, something sharp dragging across my skin. The thing that had me let go, only to bite down again, it even shook its head like a dog for a bit” Hara turned to her arm, tracing her fingers over the larger scars on her bicep.

“Then, just like that, it let go. I didn’t hesitate to kick to the surface, gasping and coughing. Once the spots cleared from my mind, it started to register how much I hurt.”

“Do you have any idea how much salt water on an open wound burns? Egads!” the guard cringed.

“Tell them to cool part” Aubree insisted, her voice excited even though she’s heard this story multiple times before.

“There’s a ‘cool’ part to getting mauled by a dolphin?” Vivi deadpanned, but was just as interested as the others.

Hara chuckled, “Kind-a, you see, like I said, dolphins are a lot like people. They can get angry and attack in rage, but they can also feel regret, I guess.”

“I couldn’t swim real good, my arm was dislocated and burning like crazy and I was exhausted from the struggle. I knew I had to get out cause my blood would probably attract something even bigger.”

“I was in swim team for years and I take pride in my swimming, so it was a little degrading that I was reduced to doggy-paddling with one arm.”

“I had drifted quite a ways from where I needed to be and was slow going getting back to the dock. But I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt something swim under me”

“She screamed” Aubree stated, a smirk on her face.

Hara spluttered, “I was scared, okay! Jeez, I mean, wouldn’t you?” her cheeks were blushing from embarrassment.

“Anyways, after the third time I felt something swimming near me, I thought for sure I was fish-food. But then, a large ‘thing’ swam under me, lifting me up some and pushing me in the direction I was swimming.”

“It wasn’t until I was at the dock that I got a good look. It was, for sure, a dolphin. It had a large, white line near one of its eyes, almost like a scar or birth mark.”

_“So, the dolphin that attacked you, helped you to safety?”_ Lewis was intrigued.

“I don’t know if it was the same one for sure, but it was the only one there.”

“Maybe it was a different one, I mean, what kind of jerk just attacks someone and then tries to act like it didn’t happen… sounds like a dick move to me”

Lewis and Arthur internally cringed but didn’t say anything.

Hara just shook her head, “Even if it was the same one, which I’m convinced it was, I don’t blame it, not really. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone loses their cool from time to time. It’s what you do to fix your mistakes that defines you.”

“Except for those jerks from earlier,” Hara piped in.

“Oh ya, those guys were assholes” Aubree agreed.

Lewis found himself chuckling. Arthur remained quiet, not really looking at anyone.

“I went back to the dock a few days later. My dad was with me to make sure I didn’t try to swim or anything…”

“You know you would have too~” the head guard teased.

Hara snorted, but didn’t argue.

“Sure enough, there was a dolphin there. I knew it was the same one because of the white line near its eye. It kept swimming around the dock, as if it was waiting for something”

“Stealing my nerves, I took my shoes off, much to my dads’ dismay, and stuck my feet in the water.”

“The dolphin kind of swam up to me, staying about arm’s length away. I didn’t move, even after my dad was pulling on my shirt, begging me to get back.”

“It was strange, the dolphin just sort of stopped, turning an eye to face me. We just stared at each other, not moving.”

“It was probably my imagination but, it almost looked like it was waiting for me to do something as much as I was waiting for it to do the same.”

“Then, it just sprayed me with water and swam away. Some apology I guess” Hara chuckled. “That was a little over two months ago”

“Ya, but you swam there again less than a week after it happened” the head guard scolded, bumping her foot against the other guard.

“Nothing happened, and I wasn’t alone” Hara grumbled.

 

Arthur was shocked, “Why would you go back?” he asked, Lewis squeezing his shoulder lightly, “Why risk getting attacked again?”

“Because, I was afraid”

Arthur’s shoulders tensed, hugging his towel to himself.

“But, what scared me wasn’t the dolphin or the water… it’s what happened in the water that scared me.”

Lewis glanced down at his friend, seeing him staring at his left shoulder.

Arthur could relate somewhat. He hated to admit that he still flinched when Mystery would get close without him knowing.

But, it wasn’t Mystery he was afraid was it? No, he was afraid of the demon, and what happened to get it out…

He was pulled from his thoughts as the guard continued.

“Life’s short”

“We all will die. It’s inevitable. I could have died in that inlet. Either from drowning or bleeding out or from a shark attracted by the blood… but I didn’t die.”

Lewis felt Arthur tens under his hand.

“I’m still afraid, but I still move forward. I live my life the way I want to live it. I could die doing something really stupid or I could keel over right now from a brain aneurysm…”

“That’s a comforting thought” Aubree scoffed, shaking her head in a scolding manner, “You’re always so optimistic, you know that?”

Hara just rolled her eyes before locking onto Arthurs’, her voice holding no doubt,

“Your scars don’t define who you are. They tell a story on where you’ve been and that you survived”

Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment before looking up at his friends. Lewis and Vivi just gave him a warm smile, full of care.

There was a long silence before Hara cleared her throat awkwardly, grabbing the clipboard,

“Any-hoot, I think I’ve wasted your guy’s time long enough. So, if you could just put your name, address and contact information on this, then you’re good to go and enjoy the rest of your day” Hara handed Arthur the clip-board with a yellow piece of paper on it.

Arthur grabbed the pin that was handed to him while Lewis held the clipboard while he wrote everything down.

After signing the bottom, the guard took the board and handed it to her colleague. After looking at it briefly, she smiled to the trio, “Well, we got all we need, enjoy the rest of your day~”

_“Thank you”_ Lewis smiled back and ushered his friends back outside, heading back to their chairs.

A few people stared at Arthur but the blonde didn’t notice, his mind elsewhere.

 

* * *

 

Hara followed them out and went back to her post, the chair by the high dive.

As the day progressed, the trio decided to head home. As they packed their belongings away, Arthur looked to the pool.

He could see Hara, watching a few kids jumping in when she noticed his glance. She waved and Arthur felt a smile tug on his face. As he waved back shyly, Vivi gave him a playful nudge.

Arthur didn’t respond as he draped his towel over his shoulders and they headed to the van. As they passed the front gate, Aubree called out to them, handing a card to Arthur.

“Have a good day and thanks for visiting” she smiled with a wink.

Arthur looked at the card as Vivi and Lewis looked over his shoulder.

Printed on the top it stated ‘Swim Lessons Schedule’ with a list of times and dates.

On the back was a note; ‘I’m sorry this happened to you, but remember, you survived’

 Lewis and Vivi both chuckled as Arthur felt his ears get hot.

As they walked across the parking lot, Arthur thought to himself, ‘I need to talk to Mystery’

But there was no fear in that thought.

**Author's Note:**

> I do have relatives that live on the east coast near an inlet.
> 
> The incident with a dolphin really did happen to my aunt’s neighbor. She told me the story when we went out fishing a few years back. She's a really nice lady and likes to show off her 'battle scars' as she calls them.
> 
> It actually happened when they were out on a boat but the dolphin really did help her swim back to safety after attacking her.
> 
> She said she is afraid but she still goes swimming in the ocean.
> 
> I don’t have any pictures but these are google images that are pretty close to how her shoulder and arm look. Granted these are pictures of shark bites.
> 
> This one is close to what her bicep looks like where the teeth sunk in further and left deeper scars:  
> http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/shark-attack-experiment-live/galleries/photo-gallery-i-survived-a-shark-attack/at/todd-endris-shark-attack-scars-43588/
> 
> This is close to what her shoulder and around her collar looks like where the dolphins’ teeth scratched when it shook its head:  
> http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LXX74PaKvi0/TFdaiZnlQyI/AAAAAAAACzQ/1I-9ipSnNtI/s1600/B+marks.JPG
> 
> And this is what the park looks like that they were swimming at, it’s also where I work:  
> http://www.mariononline.com/media/2012/11/aquatic-center.jpg


End file.
